Robbed
Every year it seems like there's at least one team that is robbed from their rightful spot in the playoffs and this year is definitely no different. This year my choice for team that robbed from the playoffs was the Yellowknife Wraiths. The Wraiths got the boot due to having one less win than the Colorado Yeti, it's truly disheartening that they Yeti get to play in the playoffs, while the Wraiths are actually a better team and could put up a better fight against each and every other team that made the playoffs this year. What really hurt the Wraiths was the fact that Mat Akselsen was a shell of his former self, and while he did rack up a lot of rushing yards like one would expect, it really didn't go very far in helping his team a lot of the time. The real kicker is the fact that the Wraiths took the juggernaut that is the Philadelphia Liberty too lightly and got smacked around like a little red headed step child as Darlane Farlane drug his nuts across their defenses faces all day long. Nevertheless the Wraiths truly would be a much better watch than seeing the Yeti instantly being knocked out of the playoffs, but alas here we are.
New Talent
When I think of all the trades that happened this past year that could ultimately have a true impact in the playoffs there is only one that comes to mind and that's not because I was intimately involved with it. The trade that I'm speaking of was the one that saw the Philadelphia Liberty trade away starting running back Bubba Nuck and one million dollars in cap space to the Baltimore Hawks in exchange for season 10 fourth round draft pick. This was truly a sad day in Philadelphia as we know just how much Nuck could contribute, but he was being pushed out by the vastly superior Darlane Farlane. Not wanting to play second fiddle to a dude with such big balls, we found a trade for him in Baltimore. While Nuck only had 163 rushing yards for Baltimore he did run at a 5.1 yards per carry clip and vultured 6 touchdowns. In a playoff game where every opportunity is crucial I think that Nuck can be a great change of pace back, but will also be ready to slap every Hawk butt or motivation, which some say is Nuck's true talent and the real reason teammates love him.
Playoff Predictions
Colorado Yeti @ Baltimore Hawks
This first matchup is going to be a snooze fest and you can already put a check in the win column for the Baltimore Hawks. They're going up against the Colorado Yeti for the NSFC game and this matchup is terrible. In both regular season games the Hawks decisively beat up the Yeti and it's not like it was only because of one aspect of the game. In the first game Blocksdale threw for four touchdowns and in the second Taylor ran for over 5 yards a carry and they even had a pick 6.
Predicted Result: No contest Hawks win.
Orange County Otters @ New Orleans Second Line
This one in my opinion is a tough one to call. Unlike the NSFC game where one team one both games, in the ASFC I think the team that won both games might be in trouble. An aging QB and RB make the Otters offense sluggish at times and their lack of penetration (last in NSFL in TFL) on defense leads to some easy yards, but I think that they overcome all the odds and send the Second Line packing.
Predicted Result: Another close fight with Boss putting the team on his back. Otters win.
Orange County Otters @ Baltimore Hawks
This would make for an especially intriguing championship game as Orange County actually won both matchups in the regular season with Mike Boss throwing for over 370 yards in each game. Could this be a magical run for the Otters as Boss and the explosive passing attack slice up some bird and eat them for dinner? I say yes! The Hawks will prove unable to stop the crazy amount of weapons Boss has at his disposal and the Otters coast to victory.
Predicted Result: Boss leads Otters to win!
Root for the Underdog
If ever there was an underdog story to actually pull off an upset in the playoffs I'd imagine that it would have to be this year's Orange County Otters. This team is actually a pretty good team that likes to slice and dice opposing defenses through the air with many viable weapons. The problem they saw this year is that they had almost no run game to speak of coming in dead last in team rushing. Yates and Boss seem to be on their last legs as they've already announced their retirements. While many see this as a reason as to why they're going to be an early playoff exit pointing at guys who have already checked out, I'll counter that this is the exact reason why they're going to go far, because they have a lot of great teammates that are going to rally around these two guys and try to get them one last ring before they ride off into the sunset on the same horse with Yates holding his hands around Boss' waist. Realistically I think that the trio of Crush, Westfield, and Atwell combined with contributions from Yates and Phelps will just be way too much for the Second Line to handle.
Every year it seems like there's at least one team that is robbed from their rightful spot in the playoffs and this year is definitely no different. This year my choice for team that robbed from the playoffs was the Yellowknife Wraiths. The Wraiths got the boot due to having one less win than the Colorado Yeti, it's truly disheartening that they Yeti get to play in the playoffs, while the Wraiths are actually a better team and could put up a better fight against each and every other team that made the playoffs this year. What really hurt the Wraiths was the fact that Mat Akselsen was a shell of his former self, and while he did rack up a lot of rushing yards like one would expect, it really didn't go very far in helping his team a lot of the time. The real kicker is the fact that the Wraiths took the juggernaut that is the Philadelphia Liberty too lightly and got smacked around like a little red headed step child as Darlane Farlane drug his nuts across their defenses faces all day long. Nevertheless the Wraiths truly would be a much better watch than seeing the Yeti instantly being knocked out of the playoffs, but alas here we are.
New Talent
When I think of all the trades that happened this past year that could ultimately have a true impact in the playoffs there is only one that comes to mind and that's not because I was intimately involved with it. The trade that I'm speaking of was the one that saw the Philadelphia Liberty trade away starting running back Bubba Nuck and one million dollars in cap space to the Baltimore Hawks in exchange for season 10 fourth round draft pick. This was truly a sad day in Philadelphia as we know just how much Nuck could contribute, but he was being pushed out by the vastly superior Darlane Farlane. Not wanting to play second fiddle to a dude with such big balls, we found a trade for him in Baltimore. While Nuck only had 163 rushing yards for Baltimore he did run at a 5.1 yards per carry clip and vultured 6 touchdowns. In a playoff game where every opportunity is crucial I think that Nuck can be a great change of pace back, but will also be ready to slap every Hawk butt or motivation, which some say is Nuck's true talent and the real reason teammates love him.
Playoff Predictions
Colorado Yeti @ Baltimore Hawks
This first matchup is going to be a snooze fest and you can already put a check in the win column for the Baltimore Hawks. They're going up against the Colorado Yeti for the NSFC game and this matchup is terrible. In both regular season games the Hawks decisively beat up the Yeti and it's not like it was only because of one aspect of the game. In the first game Blocksdale threw for four touchdowns and in the second Taylor ran for over 5 yards a carry and they even had a pick 6.
Predicted Result: No contest Hawks win.
Orange County Otters @ New Orleans Second Line
This one in my opinion is a tough one to call. Unlike the NSFC game where one team one both games, in the ASFC I think the team that won both games might be in trouble. An aging QB and RB make the Otters offense sluggish at times and their lack of penetration (last in NSFL in TFL) on defense leads to some easy yards, but I think that they overcome all the odds and send the Second Line packing.
Predicted Result: Another close fight with Boss putting the team on his back. Otters win.
Orange County Otters @ Baltimore Hawks
This would make for an especially intriguing championship game as Orange County actually won both matchups in the regular season with Mike Boss throwing for over 370 yards in each game. Could this be a magical run for the Otters as Boss and the explosive passing attack slice up some bird and eat them for dinner? I say yes! The Hawks will prove unable to stop the crazy amount of weapons Boss has at his disposal and the Otters coast to victory.
Predicted Result: Boss leads Otters to win!
Root for the Underdog
If ever there was an underdog story to actually pull off an upset in the playoffs I'd imagine that it would have to be this year's Orange County Otters. This team is actually a pretty good team that likes to slice and dice opposing defenses through the air with many viable weapons. The problem they saw this year is that they had almost no run game to speak of coming in dead last in team rushing. Yates and Boss seem to be on their last legs as they've already announced their retirements. While many see this as a reason as to why they're going to be an early playoff exit pointing at guys who have already checked out, I'll counter that this is the exact reason why they're going to go far, because they have a lot of great teammates that are going to rally around these two guys and try to get them one last ring before they ride off into the sunset on the same horse with Yates holding his hands around Boss' waist. Realistically I think that the trio of Crush, Westfield, and Atwell combined with contributions from Yates and Phelps will just be way too much for the Second Line to handle.
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